Kevin Snider from Elizabethtown, Ky. won the Oct. 21-23 BFL Regional on Alabama's Lake Wheeler, but was disqualified soon after he was announced as the winner. A routine post-win inspection of his boat, conducted by FLW officials after the weigh-in, revealed that it didn't have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate, which FLW Outdoors rules require.



Snider's weights were then zeroed for all 3 days, and in its coverage of the event FLW omitted any mention of him. In addition to losing all prizes for that event, the loss of points meant that Snider wouldn't qualify to fish the BFL All-American, one of the biggest non-Tour-level events in the sport.

The applicable rule (FLW rule No. 9) states: "Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 250 HP, not to exceed the horsepower limitations as set by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer." (The same rule applies to EverStart and FLW Tour events.)

But the Coast Guard doesn't rate bass boats 20 feet and longer for horsepower. As a result, Snider's boat, a 20' 1" Viper, wasn't required to have the plate.

The applicable BASS rule recognizes that possibility. It states: "When required, each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower-rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer." Snider would have been legal in a Bassmaster event, but the point is moot. He was in an FLW Outdoors event, was found to be in violation of FLW rules and was disqualified.

Snider said he sent a letter to FLW Outdoors requesting reimbursement for the $58,000 prize amount (cash plus a Ranger boat) and a berth in the BFL All-American. His request was denied. "I plan legal action," he said. "I haven't slept forever. They didn't even post anything that I really won the tournament. They just put all my weights to zero. It's really humiliating."

Charlie Evans, executive VP and COO of FLW Outdoors, told BassFan: "We enforce rules exactly to the letter."

When asked why Snider was DQd for all 3 days rather than just 1 day as done in the past, Evans said: "We cannot comment on the specific details of any disqualification, especially when it could enter litigation."

He added: "It's our policy to keep any details between the company and the person who was disqualified. We treat our customers with dignity and respect, and apply the same treatment to everyone."

In response to further questions, he said that FLW's morning boat inspections only check for an ignition shut-off switch and functional aerators, and that FLW has no plans to change its rating-plate rule.

To The Letter

After an investigation by BassFan, it appears that enforcement of BFL rule 9 "to the letter" may be problematic. The crux of the problem is this: Since the Coast Guard doesn't rate bass boats 20 feet and longer for horsepower, no "U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate," as mandated in rule 9, exists for Snider's boat – nor for any bass boat 20 feet or longer.

Phil Cappel, chief of the Recreational Boating Product Assurance Division of the Coast Guard's Office of Boating Safety, told BassFan: "Manufacturers can put a plate on their boats and we appreciate it from the standpoint of safety. But if the boat's over 20 feet, the plate should not say 'U.S. Coast Guard' on it in relation to horsepower."

David DeHorn, manager of engineering standards at the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), a boating industry trade group, agreed with Cappel. The NMMA is an industry association that looks to the American Boat and Yacht Council for manufacturing and safety guidelines (which are stricter than the Coast Guard's). Using those guidelines it then offers safety certification status to its member boat manufacturers. The NMMA also prints the capacity plates for many bass boats.

"The NMMA requires a capacity plate on boats up to 26 feet," DeHorn said. "But on boats 20 feet and longer, we can't print 'U.S. Coast Guard' at the top. If a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate on boats 20 feet and longer was part of the requirement for the tournament, the rule was probably misstated. They should have said it needs a capacity plate. The tournament organization was probably not in tune with what the regulations are."

If FLW followed rule 9 to the letter, an argument could be made that it shouldn't have DQd only Snider. Instead, a strict reading of the rule given the Coast Guard information indicates that every other competitor with a boat 20 feet and longer should also be DQd. In other words, it looks like at that BFL Regional, the win should have been awarded to the competitor who caught the most weight while fishing from a boat under 20 feet that had a Coast Guard horsepower rating plate.

Furthermore, since rule 9 is the same for all BFL, EverStart and FLW Tour events, an argument could also be made that past BFL, EverStart and FLW Tour wins could be open to question, as well as any boat 20 feet and longer competing in the EverStart Championship, which begins today.

After these distinctions came to light, BassFan again spoke with Evans and asked him to comment on rule 9 and whether any contestants with a boat 20 feet and longer could comply with it.

He said: "Our rule is black and white. You must have a horsepower rating plate attached to the boat. (Anyone) can try to twist or turn it and try to say we have a bad rule, but that's your opinion. The rule is there for a purpose, and each contestant must agree that they've read the rules, they understand them and will comply."

Notable

> Click here to read the latest The Laney Opinion, where columnist Scot Laney gives his thoughts on the matter.

> Click here to read what Snider's father has to say about the DQ.

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